Category: WATER AND SANITATION

GOVERNMENT begins rolling out a mass typhoid vaccination campaign intended to mitigate the menacing waterborne disease among its citizens. By Kudakwashe Pembere The implementation of this programme makes Zimbabwe the first African country to take up the large scale vaccination against typhoid which unlike other typhoid vaccines in September can be administered to young children and long lasting immunity. Briefing the press, Health and Child care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo hoped the program to have coincided the same time as the first phase of the vaccination dose. “I would like…

ECONET Wireless’ social impact organization, Higher Life Foundation has availed another US$60 million towards the cholera response. By Kudakwashe Pembere This is supplementary to the US$10 million Econet Zimbabwe donated when the cholera outbreak broke out. The money will be used over the next five years. “The family foundation of Econet founders Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa is committing an additional US$60 million towards the cholera response in Zimbabwe. This comes on the back of an initial $10 million investment by Econet Zimbabwe at the onset of the cholera outbreak in…

THE Swedish government is building a state of the art health facility as well as skills center in Hopley in a bid to address the health challenges bedeviling the Hopley community. By Michael Gwarisa Hopely is one of the highly populated peri urban residential are in the outskirts of Harare, housing not less than 200 000 people, with about 65 000 being aged between 10-24years. Speaking from the construction, Swedesh Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Amb Sophia Calltorp said the health center will go a long way in alleviating the health and…

STATE-owned converged telecommunications company TelOne donated 100 litter bins and water tanks in Mabvuku on Thursday as part of their efforts to envision a clean healthy environment. By Kudakwashe Pembere Speaking on behalf of TelOne’s Managing Director Mrs Chipo Mutasa was Corporate Services Director Mr Hopewell Zinyau who said they have taken the program in 13 cities. “As some of you may already be aware, TelOne has defined Environmental management as a key thematic area for our corporate social investment programming. As such we have, since 2016 been involved in…

TO date, 4.5 billion people live without safely managed sanitation and 892 million people still practise open defecation. By Michael Gwarisa Every year, on November 19, the world celebrates World Toilet Day and this year, the day is running under the theme “When nature calls, we have to listen and act.” Twice or thrice a day, nature calls and the need to relieve oneself becomes inevitable making the toilet a basic human right and need. Sanitation has been declared a human right by the United Nations. The United Nations…

Government will on Sunday receive 900 000 doses of vaccines to combat the cholera pandemic bedeviling Harare. By Kudakwashe Pembere So far there are 500 000 doses in Government’s possession to be used in vaccinating people in affected areas. This brings the total number of vaccines to 1, 4 million within a space of one week. The outbreak which to date has claimed 49 lives was declared an emergency disaster last month by Health and Childcare minister Dr Obadiah Moyo. Government today launched the National Oral Cholera Vaccine in Budiriro…

THE Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ) says it is currently investigating 11 bottled water companies following allegations of bacterial contamination in their water, this publication can reveal. By Michael Gwarisa Responding to HealthTimes on the side-lines of the ongoing Medical and Health Expo in the capital, SAZ Director Quality Assurance Mr Sebastian Zuze said they were on top of things as investigations on are underway to ascertain the credibility of the allegations and should the companies be found guilty, they risk losing their SAZ certification. “So when we talk…

A Cholera symposium is set to be held in Harare, on October, 5 2018 to deliberate and proffer lasting solutions to the water infrastructure crisis in urban environments which is believed to be the major driving force behind the recurrence of medieval diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid. By Michael Gwarisa The conference which is being organised by a group of local and foreign based Zimbabwean engineers and new ZBC radio station, Classic 263 will draw participation from players in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector as well…

A total of 11 bottled water brands are contaminated with bacteria amidst indications that the levels of bacteria in some brands were four times the acceptable levels stipulated by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe (SAZ). Story first appeared in The Zimbabwe Independent The sad development comes at a time most Zimbabweans have resorted to bottled and portable water as an escape from getting infected with the Cholera pandemic which has claimed at 50. Results from laboratory tests which were conducted by the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) at the request…

STANBIC Bank has responded to the obtaining cholera epidemic by donating goods worth US$70 000 to the ministry of health and child care (MoHCC) to fight the cholera scourge which has ravaged the Capital city. HealthTimes Reporter Speaking during the handover event, Stanbic Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Palmer Mugavha said cholera was not a government issue alone and as an organisation, they had taken it upon themselves to intervene through any means possible. “As a bank we saw it fit to assist the government because this epidemic…